The Sydney-born, Los Angeles-based artist George Byrne new exhibition at Sydney’s Olsen Gallery, “Synthetica”, is a captivating dance between the natural and the artificial, paying homage to Byrne’s analogue roots whilst challenging preconceptions in our digitally-driven age.
The series, although rooted in Los Angeles, transcends geographical boundaries by seamlessly blending urban landscapes with epic scenes from Daytona Beach to Death Valley and Yellowstone National Park. Byrne says his curiosity lies not only in capturing images but in the intricate process of experimentation, manipulation, and digital reconstruction. The deliberate displacement of the natural environment invites viewers to reconsider their understanding of place and space.
“My work is a comment on the way I perceive the world around me,” says Byrne of the exhibition. It’s a way of seeing the thing in front of me, then concentrating my mind to envisage something past the thing, the imagined world, a synthetic world.”
“Byrne’s exploration of urban landscapes challenges our predisposed perceptions of the ordinary,” says Olsen Gallery’s Tim Olsen, who notes that “Synthetica” prompts viewers to pause and scrutinise seemingly banal settings, transforming them into stages for aesthetic contemplation.
The essence of the exhibition, according to Byrne, is “levity, dreams, magic” – blending dreams, diary entries, and escapism, pushing to make epic scenes out of everyday spaces while directing the lens back to nature in a fresh perspective. “Synthetica” is exhibiting at Olsen Gallery until March 2, 2024.
